/STUDIOMDA

What /STUDIOMDA does

/STUDIOMDA is a privately held, Belgian-Brazilian design studio specializing in wayfinding design strategy and environmental graphic design for built environments. Founded in 1993 and operating from Porto Alegre, Brazil with a business partner office in Tielt-Winge, Belgium, the firm delivers project-based professional services — including signage systems, pictogram development, spatial communication strategy, and integrated environmental graphics — to clients across healthcare, retail, education, corporate, cultural, and residential sectors. Its portfolio spans projects in Brazil, Belgium, India, France, and Portugal, with notable engagements including Hospital Moinhos de Vento, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Stok Center, Aurora Shopping, the Healthy Planet School Early Years, ALOK HQ, and the Basiliektoren (Teseum Museum).

The studio's core technology is human-authored design craft rather than software platforms: it produces custom pictogram systems (including three-dimensional effects with displaced layers), material integration solutions combining polished stainless steel, acrylic, granite, and translucent substrates, and bilingual or multilingual wayfinding standards. Differentiators cited include bicultural team composition, an award-validated portfolio (DNA Paris Design Awards 2025, Brazil Design Award 2024, Lusophone Creativity Awards 2024, Bornancini Design Award), and specialized expertise in heritage-context integration. The firm is a member of the Sign Design Society and operates no API, SDK, or productized software offering.

The business model is sales-led, B2B professional services with quote-based project pricing. The studio of ~11 employees acquires work through direct client engagement, architectural partnership referrals, and portfolio-driven visibility; it maintains no publicly disclosed pricing tiers, has no disclosed funding rounds or institutional investors, and is privately held with no public ownership signal. Marketing channels are limited to website portfolio presentation, design-award participation, and architectural-firm referrals — appropriate for a niche specialty consultancy serving enterprise clients across multiple jurisdictions.

Name

/STUDIOMDA

Legal name

https://studiomda.com.br/STUDIOMDA

Website

https://studiomda.be

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

/STUDIOMDA is a Belgian-Brazilian design studio specializing in wayfinding strategy, signage systems, and environmental graphic design for healthcare, retail, education, corporate, and cultural clients across Brazil, Belgium, and India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto Alegre

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wayfinding Design Consulting: Project-based professional services for developing comprehensive wayfinding systems including research, strategy, design, and implementation oversight for signage and environmental graphics

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

/STUDIOMDA is a Belgian-Brazilian design studio specializing in wayfinding design strategies and solutions. The studio delivers signage systems, environmental graphics, pictograms, visual coding, and spatial communication design that help people orient themselves in physical spaces across healthcare, education, retail, corporate, cultural, and residential environments. Services span strategy development, design, and implementation oversight on a project basis for clients in Brazil, Belgium, India, France, and Portugal.

Product overview

/STUDIOMDA is a Belgian-Brazilian design studio specializing in wayfinding design strategies and solutions. The company offers a unified portfolio of services including wayfinding strategy development, signage systems design, environmental graphic design, and spatial communication solutions. Their work spans across healthcare facilities, educational institutions, corporate offices, retail environments, residential buildings, cultural venues, and public spaces, primarily serving clients in Brazil, Belgium, and India. The studio delivers smart and unique solutions using expertise, technical knowledge, and empathy to connect people with places.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wayfinding Design Services
• Signage Systems
• Environmental Graphic Design
• Wayfinding Strategy Development
• Custom Pictogram Systems

Quantifiable outcome

• Wayfinding system implemented across 22 laboratory units for Weinmann within first rollout
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• STUDIOMDA BV (Belgium)coreOthersEuropean business partner office in Tielt-Winge, Belgium enabling the studio to serve clients across Belgium and broader European market while maintaining their Belgian-Brazilian bicultural approach to wayfinding design.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Two Twelve: Two Twelve is a New York-based wayfinding and signage design studio serving cultural, civic, healthcare, and corporate clients. Directly comparable to /STUDIOMDA in project types, design-led approach, and award-winning portfolio of environmental graphics.
• CityID: CityID is a UK specialist consultancy in wayfinding, signage, and pedestrian navigation for cities, transport, and major venues. Comparable to /STUDIOMDA in delivering strategy-driven environmental graphic design for complex public and institutional environments.
• Selbert Perkins Design: Selbert Perkins is a US-based wayfinding and placemaking consultancy with global reach across healthcare, education, retail, and corporate. Directly comparable to /STUDIOMDA in service mix, vertical breadth, and award-recognized design quality for built environments.
• Mijksenaar: Mijksenaar is a Dutch wayfinding pioneer founded in 1969, specializing in signage and visual information systems for airports, cities, and healthcare. Directly comparable to /STUDIOMDA in core service offering (wayfinding strategy, pictogram systems, environmental graphics) and client profile (transport, healthcare, public sector).
• Triad: Triad is a UK-based wayfinding and environmental graphic design consultancy serving clients across healthcare, transport, education, and cultural sectors. Closely comparable to /STUDIOMDA in offering (wayfinding strategy, signage systems, branded environments) and the EMEA-international positioning.
• dotdash: dotdash is an Australian wayfinding and environmental graphic design studio working across healthcare, education, transport, and commercial sectors. Closely comparable to /STUDIOMDA in service offering, vertical mix, and the boutique design-studio model.

Emerging players

• Carlo Ratti Associati: Carlo Ratti Associati is a Turin- and New York-based design and innovation office working on architecture, urban planning, and digital-physical wayfinding installations. Overlaps with /STUDIOMDA in environmental graphic design and wayfinding but centers on larger, technology-integrated projects.

Broad incumbents

• HASSELL: HASSELL is an international architecture and design practice with integrated interior, landscape, and wayfinding/environmental graphics capabilities. Comparable to /STUDIOMDA in the built-environment design space but broader in scope (full architecture, interiors, and urban design).
• Pentagram: Pentagram is a globally recognized, partner-led design firm with active wayfinding and environmental graphic design practices alongside its broader identity, digital, and editorial work. Comparable to /STUDIOMDA in wayfinding capability but operates at much larger scale and across many design disciplines.

Regional players

• Cityplanner: Cityplanner is an Italian wayfinding and urban information design firm active across European transport and cultural venues. Comparable to /STUDIOMDA in the European wayfinding niche but primarily focused on the Italian/Mediterranean market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/-studiomda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about /STUDIOMDA